Big Ben, Almost A Year Later

This is simply the best article I've read on "The Crash" since it happened. She's right about it being our Kennedy moment and we all remember where we were when we heard the news. I had just walked into the swim club with my daughter and she was begging me to go in with her but the water was too cold for me so I brought a book to read. I got about 5 minutes into the book and PITA, my nephew, sent me a text message "big ben just crashed his motorcycle". I didn't know what to think at first because I had no info. I sent back "how bad is it?". The reply hit me like a ton of bricks - "they aren't sure if he's alive". I went over to the lifeguard hut because I know they have a PC in there. One of the guards that I'm friendly with plays college football and he was already following the story online so he kept me updated. I was not happy to hear the "no helmet" part of the story, but hey, we were all 25 once. When I was 25, I remember the crazy things I used to do. One time I went swimming in the hot summer sun and didn't put on any sunblock. I could have, but damnit, I was 25 and free. I remember foolishly getting my little red Honda CRX up to 29 or 30 in a 25 mph zone. I was a rebel, almost daring fate at times. I learned my lesson one day the hard way as I snuck in line at the grocery store express lane with 12 items when the sign clearly said "10 Items Or Less". I could feel the cold stare from the elderly woman behind me who only had a bottle of Vick's Vapor Rub. I counted the seconds silently as the girl bagged the eight items of the customer in front of me. The wait and thoughts of being caught were not unlike the main character in Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. Finally the pressure got to me and I excused myself out of the express lane and made my way into the comforts of aisle 7, anonymously dividing the express lane and customer service area. We, in Steeler Nation, can only hope that Ben also learned his lesson that day, and that he puts his wild past.....behind him.